ANKARA: NATO leaders unveiled multibillion-dollar arms deals in Turkey on Tuesday, sending a message that they are heeding calls from the United States to invest more in defending Europe, even as President Donald Trump said he was disappointed.During a meeting with President Tayyip Erdogan, Trump said he might have boycotted the NATO summit entirely if not for his warm relationship with the Turkish leader and did not rule out further troop withdrawals from Europe. “Well, we’ll see. I’m very disappointed in NATO,” he said. Trump added that allies “weren’t treating us very well,” although he reiterated that he didn’t want or need their help. “Before I asked, they said they wouldn’t be there, and we’ve invested trillions of dollars in NATO,” Trump said.Trump announced that Washington would lift sanctions imposed on Türkiye in 2020 over Ankara’s purchase of Russian anti-aircraft missiles. He also expressed his willingness to sell Turkish F-35 fighter jets. The move would be a major gesture to Erdogan and remove a long-standing problem in the bilateral relationship.Trump insists on Greenland:Trump has stoked severe tensions in Europe by insisting that the United States, rather than NATO ally Denmark, should control Greenland. Trump said the island was a “vital part” of the United States, reiterated claims it was surrounded by Chinese and Russian ships and said he would not allow Greenland to be threatened by them.NATO Secretary-General: Industrial revolution is neededNATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Monday that Europeans had seen an “alarming” increase in defense spending. Ahead of Trump’s arrival, Rutte touted a series of initiatives and deals at a defense industry forum and called for a defense industry “revolution” across the alliance, warning of Russia’s huge military spending as well as China, North Korea and Iran. “We don’t have enough time. We need capacity now to make sure we are ready. The security situation demands this,” Rutte said.“The hum of the machines must become a roar.” The deals, estimated to be worth at least $50 billion, include European countries buying unmanned reconnaissance drones from U.S. company Northrop Grumman and NATO buying aircraft from Sweden’s Saab, according to a NATO official.“Melonie is a good person”Trump called Italian Prime Minister Meloni a “good person” but criticized her for failing to help resolve the conflict with Iran. “She refused to get involved, so it kind of soured my relationship with her. But I like her. I think she’s a good person. But I think she made a mistake,” Trump said. mechanism
